Barry Collier gathered the Butler players Friday morning in New York and gave them the news that many observers — and just about all the players — figured was inevitable.

Chris Holtmann no longer was the interim coach. He was now the permanent coach.

"Chris has really gotten this team to respond to his coaching in a difficult situation that could have gone in a lot of different ways," Collier later told the IndyStar. "I think he's provided very good leadership for them. You can see that in his interactions with them."

Holtmann will replace New Castle native Brandon Miller, who will not return from a medical leave of absence announced Oct. 2. No further details were provided on Miller's condition.

"You feel grateful, you feel honored," Holtmann said. "You also feel a sense or responsibility. We know we have some work to do in the Big East. But who Butler is as a university resonates with me and resonates with my family."

Holtmann isn't as deeply immersed in the Butler Way as many of his predecessors. He didn't play at the school and had spent just one season there as an assistant before replacing Miller. He is friends with former Butler coach Brad Stevens and was the head coach for three seasons at Gardner-Webb, where he was named the Big South Coach of the Year after leading the Runnin' Bulldogs to a 21-13 record and berth in the CollegeInsider.com Tournament during the 2012-13 season.

But he cemented his qualifications with the way Butler has played over the past two months. The Bulldogs are off to a 10-4 start, including victories over No. 19 North Carolina and No. 25 Georgetown at the Battle 4 Atlantis. The Bulldogs play at No. 15 St. John's on Saturday.

"I think obviously, our non-conference play helped us," Holtmann said. "It's hard to put so much onto one win, but our North Carolina game was so much on a national stage. More than anything, our guys have showed a lot of poise and togetherness through difficult situation. I think that's been a real positive in people's minds."

It impressed Collier, who decided not to wait until the season ended to conduct a national search.

"This just felt like the right thing at the right time," said Collier, who declined to disclose contract terms. "I have great confidence in Chris. I am very excited that he's leading our team."

Holtmann's promotion was announced three months to the day that Miller began his medical leave of absence. Butler officials have been tight-lipped on why he did so, but did confirm it was taken under the Family Medical Leave Act.

Butler did not specify in a news release if Miller would be employed at the school in another capacity and Collier declined to comment further on his status.

Holtmann and his staff were concerned the instability of the coaching situation was hurting Butler in recruiting. They thought it was a factor in missing out on Corey Johnson, a 6-6 guard from Ottawa, Canada, who signed with Harvard in November.

That likely appealed to Collier, a former coach. Butler is heavily recruiting Southport forward Joey Brunk.

"It's important for us to begin to recruit for the years ahead of us," Holtmann said. "We had to get started doing that. It's not like we hadn't done that, but obvious it's a different animal now. When I make recruiting calls tonight, it's just different in a good way."

"From the inside, there's been far less instability or hesitation about what is going on with (the team) than people might think from the outside," Collier said. "Chris had a lot to do with that in how he set up the staff to focus on strategy and on the team. He did have relationships with these guys dating back to last summer. That helped to give him credibility with the players. He also helped everyone focus on the day and not worry too terribly much about what will happen too far into the future."

Former Butler player Joel Cornette, who was a teammate of Miller's at Butler, said Friday's announcement brought mixed emotions.

"I think the day itself is certainly bittersweet to see one of my best friends have something that is not going to allow him to live out his dream of coaching at his alma mater," Cornette said. "That stings.

"But I've been back to Butler. I've been around Chris and saw how he works and operates. Seeing the games, you can see he's shown leadership and poise and the ability to do an outstanding job. I think it's an outstanding hire."

Miller played at Butler from 2000-03 and had been an assistant coach at Butler, Illinois and Ohio State before being named the Bulldogs' head coach after Stevens left to become head coach of the Boston Celtics in July 2013. Miller did not return calls on Friday.

The Bulldogs went 14-17 and 4-14 in the Big East in Miller's only season, which also was the school's first in the Big East. Former Butler and current Marian University coach Todd Lickliter, who coached Miller at Butler, said Miller should be remembered for bringing in Holtmann as an assistant.

"Your heart aches for Brandon," Lickliter said. "You want what is best for him. But you do know that Butler is in good hands, in large part thanks to Brandon."